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Misterman
by Enda Walsh Resolve Productions, Irish Tour, 2017 Director: Melissa Firlit Set Designers: Craig Dolezel, Melissa Firlit Costume Designer: Stefanie Genda Sound Designer: Matt Bittner Prod. Stage Manager: Mae Frankeberger Photography by Simon Mills, Douglas Chapin, and Elaine Wong. The tour played in four different venues in Ireland and Northern Ireland: The Granary Theater in Cork, The Balor Arts Centre in Baleybofey, Glór in Ennis, and The Theatre at the Mill in Newtonabbey. This production of Misterman was originated for the Thingamajig Theatre Company at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Performing Arts. The play begins inside a warehouse in which Thomas Magill, social outcast in the small Irish town of Inishfree, has finally managed to finalize all the locations, props, and reel-to-reel recordings he needs to tell the truth of his story. An intimate look into Thomas' troubled world, Misterman explores a regular day of life in Inishfree: from the town's callous behaviour, Thomas' father's lingering legacy, and the act that ultimately sends Thomas to madness. Driven by a single actor playing many roles, the speed, violence, and wit of the play is at odds with its beauty and empathy. The final question the audience is left is: is Thomas Magill a just man?
The major design thrust of the show is to help ground the audience in the layered facets of Thomas' world -- not only the physical reality of the warehouse, and the multitude of locations he inhabits through his storytelling, but also highlighting the emotional and spiritual transformations Thomas endures. The LED strip lights function as a physical manifestation of those emotions, and of the God that Thomas feels all around him, at turns kind and welcoming, at turns impassive in its judgement. |
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